SECRETARY-GENERAL
First things first, I have a trip announcement for you. Just later this afternoon or rather this evening, the Secretary-General will be heading off to India, where he will take part in an event on India and UN Partnership. He will also participate in the launch of the Lifestyle for Environment Mission. 
During his two-day visit, the Secretary-General will meet the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, as well as the External Affairs Minister of India, [Subrahmanyam] Jaishankar. He will also visit a model project site, which has recently been declared India’s first solar powered village. At the site, the Secretary-General will witness how solar rooftops installed on more than 1,300 rural houses are improving lives in the community. 
The Secretary-General will then head off to Viet Nam, where he will take part in a ceremony to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Viet Nam’s membership to the United Nations.
While there, he will meet the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, the State President, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and the Prime Minister, Pham Minh Chinh, as well as other senior Vietnamese officials. The Secretary-General will also participate in a dialogue with Vietnamese youth.
He will be back in New York on 23 October.

MALI
We expect a more formal statement later today, but I can already, unfortunately share with you some more tragic news from Mali, where three peacekeepers died today when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Tessalit, in the Kidal region of Mali.
The peacekeepers were on a mine search and detection patrol. Three other peacekeepers were also seriously injured and are receiving treatment in a UN hospital.
We send our deep condolences to the families of the peacekeepers, to our colleagues in the mission, and we wish a speedy recovery to those who were injured.
Just to give you some context this is obviously the latest incident in what is already a very challenging environment for UN Peacekeeping. This year already 12 UN peacekeepers were killed in Mali in hostile acts.

BLACK SEA GRAIN INITIATIVE
I know a number of you have been asking me for updates on the Black Sea Grain Initiative and related issues following the just concluded trip to Moscow by Rebeca Grynspan, the Secretary-General of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, as well as Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. They were in Moscow on 16 and 17 October. They just left about an hour or so ago. They were there, where negotiations continue with senior Russian officials to convey the UN Secretary-General’s commitment to pursuing an extended and expanded Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Both UN officials met yesterday and today jointly with Sergey Vershinin, the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation.
Ms. Grynspan also had positive and constructive discussions with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov and that was on facilitating the unimpeded export of Russian grain and fertilizer exports to global markets, relaying the commitment to continued progress with all parties involved on that front in order to address growing global food insecurity.
Mr. Griffiths also met with the Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Alexander Fomin to discuss a more effective implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Discussions will continue. Fertilizers and raw materials required to produce fertilizers – that includes ammonia - originating from the Russian Federation, are key to worldwide agricultural production.
We are concerned about the next harvest and crisis in the making if fertilizers are not made available quickly and at reasonable prices to farmers all around the world as the sowing season begins. A crisis of affordability can become a crisis of availability.

UKRAINE
On the events that we saw in Ukraine proper earlier today I can tell you that the Secretary-General is deeply disturbed by the continuing missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities and towns, that includes the capital Kyiv. These strikes have resulted in widespread damage to residential and civilian areas, including critical energy infrastructure and have caused numerous deaths and injuries. The Secretary-General calls for the attacks to immediately cease and for urgent de-escalation.
On the ground, our humanitarian colleagues are telling us that drone attacks in Kyiv and other locations across the country have reportedly caused more than 60 civilian casualties and infrastructure damage between the 14 October and today. This morning, several residential homes were reportedly damaged in Kyiv, that’s according to the Kyiv city administration and our own humanitarian security reports.
In the city of Mykolaiv, in the south, drones caused fires that damaged warehouses containing sunflower oil and pharmaceuticals, and that’s according to the mayor and reports our humanitarian colleagues are receiving. Missile attacks in central and northern Ukraine have disrupted power supplies, while similar attacks on energy infrastructure facilities in the centre and in the north of the country, reportedly disrupted power supplies for hundreds of towns and villages.
We continue to respond to people impacted by the ongoing crisis. Since February 24th, we, along with our humanitarian partners, have reached 13.4 million people across Ukraine.
Just to flag that here in New York, tomorrow, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is hosting a “Briefing on the Humanitarian Situation in Ukraine” that will be done by [Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator] Denise Brown.
Representatives of the Ukrainian Government and partners will also take part. The event starts at 10:00 a.m. and you’ll be able to follow it on UN Web TV. And we’ve also asked Denis Brown to come here and brief you – she’s here in person - and that will happen at some point during the week.
And also, just for the record I want to flag that we issued a statement late Friday in which the Secretary-General reiterated his appeal to the Russian Federation that the International Committee of the Red Cross be granted full access to all prisoners of war, in accordance with international law.

ETHIOPIA
The Secretary-General spoke to you extensively on Ethiopia at the stakeout just a few minutes ago. I won’t repeat what he said but his remarks and the Q&A will be shared with you shortly.

HAITI
We have a humanitarian update on Haiti. As of Saturday, the Ministry of Health had confirmed 66 cases of cholera, reported 564 suspected cases as well as 22 cholera-related deaths. Most of the suspected cases have been recorded in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, but there are also cases in the Centre, Nippes and Artibonite departments. 
Cases at the Port-au-Prince prison are counted separately. According to the authorities, there are 271 cases there, 12 confirmed cases and 14 deaths.
In response to this situation, humanitarian agencies have been visiting and scaling up support to Cholera Treatment Centers managed by NGOs.
As the Secretary-General said a few minutes ago, clean drinking water, indispensable in the fight to contain the cholera outbreak, remains in short supply. The chlorination of the water reservoirs of Haiti’s National Directorate of Drinking Water and Sanitation and its multiple supply points in Port-au-Prince remains insufficient.
We also remain very concerned about the fuel situation. As of today, some hospitals have reported they cannot perform required surgeries due to the lack of fuel. For example, in Canape Vert and Bernard Mevs hospital in Port-au-Prince have now been forced to reduce some health services.
The Pan American Health Organization for its part has launched an emergency appeal for nearly $13 million to respond to the cholera outbreak, and as you know, Haiti is on the Security Council’s agenda this afternoon. Helen La Lime, the head of our mission there, will brief remotely from Haiti. We have asked for her remarks, if we get them we will share them with you.

RESIDENT COORDINATORS 
The Secretary-General met today with the Resident Coordinators, who represent him on the ground and lead UN country teams to advance the Sustainable Development Goals and advancing them.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General warned of yet another difficult year ahead, and said the Resident Coordinators should continue their work to rally the full strength of the UN development system to forge partnerships and innovations to find solutions, including financing for the Sustainable Development Goals. 
Focus on the cost-of-living crisis, social cohesion, climate change and development outcomes that advance human rights and inclusion will be key to rescuing the SDGs, he underscored. 
And a note that this is the first time since COVID-19 that the Secretary-General has been able to meet with his representatives in-person. 

SYRIA
Geir Pedersen, the Special Envoy for Syria, met in Damascus today with Syrian Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad. He told reporters afterwards that the situation there continues to be extremely difficult.
He said that the United Nations will continue to work to try to see if there is a possibility for a nationwide ceasefire, as well as the humanitarian needs for the Syrian people and all refugees. Adding that what we really need is progress on the political front. He once again emphasized his ideas on a step-for-step approach, the importance for all parties to engage in that, and the need to move forward.  
A transcript of his remarks was shared with you.

PALESTINIANS
Just for the record, you will have seen that over the weekend, we welcomed the signing on 13 October of the Declaration of Algiers by 14 Palestinian factions as a positive step towards intra-Palestinian reconciliation, that statement was shared with you. We also issued a statement expressing the Secretary-General’s condolences following the tragic mine incident that took place in Türkiye.  

PLASTICS
Our friends in Nairobi at the UN Environment Programme today released a report which says plastics are accumulating in the world’s soil at a worrying rate.
The report found that plastics used extensively in farming – from plastic coated fertilizers to mulch film – are contaminating the soil and potentially threatening food security. Microplastics are also impacting human health when transferred to people through the food chain.
Some countries have banned plastic microspheres, but many other microplastics continue to enter the water system. These include everything from cigarette filters to tire components to synthetic fibres from clothes. UNEP is calling on countries to develop targeted solutions for stopping the flow of plastic from the source and into the environment.

FOOTBALL FOR THE GOALS
A football related note. You will recall that a little while ago we told you about our Football for the Goals initiative, which provides a platform to mobilize the global football community to champion action around achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. 
Today, just a little more than three months after its launch, the initiative has reached a milestone with the Asian Football Confederation joining as its 50th member. The Asian Confederation, which represents 47 countries across Asia, is the third of the six continental football confederations to join the initiative along the South American Football Confederation and UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations.
In addition to the federations - which represent 112 countries, members include national associations, leagues, clubs, foundations, NGOs and the private sector.

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ERADICATION OF POVERTY
Today is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. In a message, the Secretary-General notes that, as we mark the Day, we face a harsh truth: the world is moving backwards.
The Secretary-General points out that COVID-19 plunged millions into poverty, inequalities are widening and national and household economies are battered by job losses, skyrocketing food and energy prices, and the gathering shadows of a global recession.  At the same time, he adds, the climate crisis and raging conflicts are causing immense suffering, with the poorest people bearing the brunt.
The Secretary-General stresses that this year’s theme — “Dignity for all in practice” — must be a rallying cry for urgent global action.        

MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX
And also on poverty, our friends the United Nations Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative today released their new Multidimensional Poverty Index. It shows that reducing poverty at scale is possible and unveils new ‘poverty profiles’ that can offer a breakthrough in development efforts to tackle the interlinked aspects of poverty. 
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis are accounted for, the report data shows that 1.2 billion men, women and children in 111 developing countries are living in acute multidimensional poverty. This is nearly double the number who are seen as poor when poverty is defined as living on less than $1.90 per day.